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21 Of The Best Water Parks, Outdoor And Paddling Pools In London

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In this funny London city, when the weather heats up, you have a choice between outdoor water play in a park that has paddling pools, fountains and lidos.

As a New Zealander, I often think that the only regrettable thing about living here is the lack of a beach up the road.

Sometimes, all you want to do is strip down and get stuck into some water play.

But with small people in tow, this can feel all too complicated

All those swimsuits, swimming nappies, sunblock, towels, goggles and inflatable vests.

Perhaps the world is split between those who meticulously plan for whole days out immersing their kids in London’s paddling pools, lidos, water parks and indoor swimming pools.

Then there are those who will seize any slight water-related opportunity.

Give them a fountain or a large puddle and they’ll get stuck in.

Regardless of the bathing suit-to-person ratio.

My kids and I are definitely of the latter persuasion.

There’s a time for well-planned-out swimming excursions and there’s a time for impromptu messing about in a thin wet stream.

We don’t mind being stripped down to a pair of pants and have a very tolerant attitude to wetness.

Luckily, London offers a very fine selection of options for water play.

Whether you want parks with paddling pools, a fountain or an outdoor pool/splash park, you’ll find something not too far from where you live.

Please check all fountains are open before heading over.

Wembley Park

The new Union Park will cover seven acres once complete.

wembley park paddling pool

The southern section, which is already open, includes an outdoor gym and a children’s paddling pool.

There is also a multi-use games court (currently available for tennis, with netball and basketball to follow), a wooden playground, a relaxing urban meadow and pond.

In the hotter summer weather, children (of all ages!) love to splash in the fountains of Arena Square.

wembley park fountains

More London Fountains

Take in the view of Tower Bridge while the kids have a splash about in the fountains.

With over 200 white water jets spurting water upwards, it’s a fun, free way to cool down.

Pack some spare clothes and pop into one of the many restaurants after for a cold drink and a snack.

Elephant Springs

You don’t have to live in the new Elephant & Castle development to take advantage of the water play on offer.

elephant springs water park
Charles Emerson

All are welcome to have a splash about in the fountains and use the hand-operated pumps and jets to create different effects with water.

Kids will enjoy chasing and spurting streams of water, or simply using them to soak their friends as they walk by.

Wet, yes, but happy.

Diana Memorial Fountains

Diana Memorial Fountains

Located in Hyde Park on the banks of London’s Serpentine, this once-controversial behemoth opened in 2004.

Made from 545 Cornish granite stones, it was designed ‘to express Diana’s spirit and love of children’.

There were some early slippage problems and for a time the guards were a bit cranky about anyone jumping into the children’s play area, but they’ve since relaxed.

Bring the kids, and a few snacks, find a spot and be prepared to spend a long afternoon in amongst the cheerful crowds at this London water park.

Edmond J Safra Fountain Court, Somerset House

Edmond J Safra Fountain Court, Somerset House

If you find yourself with boisterous kids after insisting on an exhibition at the excellent Courtauld Gallery, simply pop outside and strip off.

The courtyard, surrounded by 19th century buildings, contains a lively fountain featuring 55 jets, a terraced cafe and a glorious restaurant if you are feeling flash.

Bring the baby and let him/her have a splash around in what can turn into a small paddling pool.

Merchant Square Fountains

Merchant Square Fountains

There’s been a riot of regeneration in Paddington over the last few years, turning nondescript and forgotten urban spaces into buzzing canalside social sites.

The Merchant Square spiralling fountains are designed to get your kids properly wet and are surrounded by grassy green spaces perfect for drying out on later.

There are screens, deckchairs, two lifting bridges, floating gardens,  pingpong tables, restaurants, good coffee, and currently, a roosting goose.

Granary Square Fountains

A mix of families, cool fashion students and commuters populate the courtyard of the Central Saint Martins former warehouse space.

Granary Square Fountains

The water fountain for kids is located alongside lovely restaurants and places to grab a proper coffee.

Over the road, there are steps leading down to the canal, perfect for eating a packed lunch.

granary sq

Later, if your kids/phone hasn’t run out of batteries and you are still there, the fountains get lit up; like Christmas, only not.

Diana Memorial Park Fountains

Not many parks offer water play via a paddling pool but this is a favourite of everyone, including visiting celebs who take their kids there.

I’ve seen Cate Blanchett, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, Hugh Grant, Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany, Eva Herzigova and Jade Parfitt.

The foundations are also popular with those who trek there from out of London, and the people who live close enough for it to be the default afternoon lazy choice.

Known locally as the Pirate Park, it has all important water play features, as well as everything else.

diana Memorial Park water park play area

Near the massive wooden pirate ship in the middle of the sandpit is a swampy, crocodile-y area which collects all the water coming from a few fountains.

It’s not a pool, more a puddle, but when enough kids start bringing buckets and empty coffee cups filled with water and start filling up the troughs, it gets wet, as do they.

There’s a cafe to the side that does a perfectly serviceable pizza, and Queensway has a variety of places to eat as well as a Pret and a Sainsbury’s for a cheaper option.

Kensington Memorial Park

Kensington Memorial Park water park

This large recreational space with tennis courts, gardens and fields has an enclosed water play.

There’s a splash pool area filled with all sorts of funnels, buckets, hoses and sprinklers for kids to get drenched in.

It is free, with changing rooms and a guard, and outside it has a proper playground, sandpit and toddler area.

Walking distance from Portobello Road, afterwards you can head there for a street stall lunch (we love the Vietnamese bahn mi).

Leicester Square Fountains

Head to the statue of Shakespeare in the centre and let the kids splash about in the play fountain.

Ruskin Park Paddling Pool

Something of a local secret, we only discovered this masterpiece when looking for a cut-through to get to Kings Hospital.

It’s the size of a swimming pool but on an adult, mid-chin deep so shallow enough for toddlers.

(c) friends of john rusking park

There’s a tuck shop, benches and as it’s in an established park, a playground and football pitch (or maybe it was a basketball court) you can enjoy afterwards.

it’s definitely up there when it comes to being the best water park in London.

The John Madejski Garden, V&A Museum

The V&A Museum is brilliant for kids for all sorts of reasons – and you can add ‘cooling off in the paddling pool’ to the list.

When you’ve finished ransacking the place on one of the V&A’s informative but fun kid’s treasure hunts or managed to persuade your slightly older ones to take a tour with you around the galleries with the guides, step outside.

Reward everyone with an ice cream, toss your shoes and have a proper splash and play in the outdoor paddling pool.

The John Madejski Garden, V&A Museum

The steps lead in, so smaller kids can take it gradually.

It’s a sophisticated crowd; prime the kids that the V&A isn’t a place for full-on water wars (we’ve had a few tuts over the years).

Once the sun is shining and the splashing is reasonably contained, it’s a perfect inner-city London pond featuring more art and design than any of us deserve.

Brockwell Park Paddling Pool

A gorgeous park that’s also home to a large children’s playground and wet play area.

Jeppe Hein’s Appearing Rooms, Southbank Centre

They act a little like walls when they are fully firing, only to disappear just as unpredictably.

They’re perfect for running in and out of and good for those older kids who like an algorithmic challenge.

Southbank Fountains “Appearing Rooms” water park

Don’t tell them, but they’ll get wet no matter how much they think you can outsmart the jets.

The jets are gentle enough to let your toddler have a little paddle too.

The best thing about the Southbank location is the Southbank itself.

There’s a wonderful food market every weekend and bank holiday, with all the family-friendly chains at the riverside ground level.

With toilets, a sandpit in summer, a skateboard park and good coffee at Beany Green, everyone will be

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Fountains, Stratford

things to do queen elizabeth olympic park

Open March to October (except on major event days), kids can cool off by playing in 195 individually controlled jets of water.

olympic park Waterworks Fountains

Russell Square Gardens Fountain

Small but perfectly formed, kids can enjoy a brief splash about.

If you’re more of a swimming alfresco type of family, London has an abundance outdoor pools and lidos to choose from.

All you need to do is grab your towel and head down to your nearest one.

Wimbledon Splash Park

Open in the summer only, there are six paddling pools and two splash pads that squirt water intermittently.

Here are our favourite outdoor swimming pools/lidos in London:

CHARLTON LIDO

After a recent £2 million refurbishment, this 50-metre public swimming pool in South East London had to extend its opening hours to cope with the extra visitors.

Heated year-round with casual swimming always available. You can also book private sessions online.

HAMPSTEAD HEATH PONDS

HAMPSTEAD HEATH PONDS

Swimming at the Hampstead Heath ponds is a London favourite and very popular in the summer months, although these freshwater bathing pools are open to the public every day.

There are three ponds:

  • Ladies
  • Men
  • Mixed

and be prepared to share your swimming experience with the local ducks and swans.

BROCKWELL LIDO

BROCKWELL LIDO

Looking for water parks in London? Come here!

Situated in the corner of Brockwell Park, the 1930’s-built Art Deco Brockwell Lido is a much loved local landmark.

With an award-winning café and a health and fitness centre on-site, it’s a good choice for those looking for a large open space with a family feel and facilities to match.

LONDON FIELDS LIDO

London fields lido

Situated in Hackney, the pool is perfect for those who don’t like their swim to be chilly.

The 50-metre Olympic sized pool is heated year-round and open every day.

With sun terraces and a café, it’s a popular venue and often gets crowded on warm days.

OASIS SPORTS CENTRE

OASIS SPORTS CENTRE

Convenient for shoppers and people with desk jobs, an outdoor oasis awaits in Covent Garden.

It’s a small outdoor pool, but it’s heated and has a sun terrace and café on site.

Perfect for cooling off after a shopping trip, although this place is better for a quick dip rather than a serious swim.

PARLIAMENT HILL LIDO

PARLIAMENT HILL LIDO

A grade II listed Art Deco classic, originally built in 1938, but a refurbishment in 2005 brought an unusual stainless-steel liner being added to give the water some extra shimmer.

A large pool that is popular with families, it has good hot showers and a café for after swim snacks.

You’re guaranteed a lot of fun at this swimming pool.

TOOTING BEC LIDO

TOOTING BEC LIDO

The largest freshwater open-air swimming pool in the UK, this South London swimming pool has been popular with families and stern swimmers since 1906.

Its characterful multi-coloured changing room doors are welcoming and fresh and the café here is good too.

SERPENTINE LIDO

SERPENTINE LIDO

The Serpentine and accompanying paddling pool offer unchlorinated swimming areas carved from the main pond in Hyde Park.

There are deck chairs, changing facilities, a kiosk selling drinks and snacks and a playground nearby.

Local wildlife will be sharing these waters with you too.

FINCHLEY LIDO

FINCHLEY LIDO

Part of a complex which includes an indoor pool, cinema and bowling alley, the outdoor pool is small and unheated and surrounded by grassy terraces for sunbathing.

You can’t swim alfresco here if it’s less than 20 degrees outside, but there’s plenty to keep you occupied inside if it is.

HAMPTON POOL

HAMPTON POOL

Heated throughout the year, this open-air pool is situated in 2 acres of woodland close to Bushy Park.

A 36-metre-long pool with a dedicated learner pool for children, the surrounding grass areas are ideal for soaking up the summer rays.

Hillingdon Sports & Leisure Complex

The centre has a 50-metre indoor main pool, a teaching pool for Better Swim School, a leisure pool and Hillingdon Lido; a 50-metre heated outdoor lido for swimming all year round.

hillingdon lido

PARK ROAD LEISURE CENTRE + LIDO

PARK ROAD LEISURE CENTRE + LIDO

The centre also houses an indoor pool, exercise studios and therapy rooms.

POOLS ON THE PARK, RICHMOND

POOLS ON THE PARK, RICHMOND

Part of a fitness complex built in the 1960’s, the lido is open in early May although check the website for exact opening times before you visit.

Royal Docks, London Docklands

Leave the kids at home unless they’re very strong swimmers; open water swimming is not for those with armbands and inflatables!

Facilities are minimal but there’s a lifeguard looking out for you and the water quality is checked every two weeks.

royal docks urban beach

Sydenham Wells Park

This Lewisham park has a large water play area, sensory garden, nature reserve, tennis courts and playgrounds (including one for under 5s).

Perfect for a spot of outdoor water play.

Peckham Rye Park

Inspired by the Tumbling Bay Playground at the Olympic Park, the park opened in 2018 and has a water play zone where children can use hand pumps to help the water flow around streams and damns, which they can play in.

There’s also a push-button water spray, sandpit with little diggers, a climbing frame with tunnel slides, plus comfortable seating for worn out parents.

The parks below aren’t technically in London, but they’re worth a visit if you live close enough:

Swanley Park, Swanley

There’s a paddling pool, water splash area, sand play and a family enclosure here but there’s also a zip wire, boating lake, playground and light railway.

Danson Splash Park, Bexleyheath

Open from May to September, the water park play area is free to use and has good baby change, seating and close by toilets.

Croydon Road Recreation Ground

Kids can use the children’s paddling pool and enclosed play area while parents enjoy the café and tweens and teens the tennis courts, and basketball/netball facilities.

Where’s your favourite place to go for some water play?

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